The high priority focus areas for road safety actions based on impact assessment are:

• Motorcycle (Okada) Safety

• Pedestrian Safety

• Safety Engineering and Road Improvement

• Child Passenger Safety

• Driving Under Influence (DUI)

• Truck Safety

• Distracted Driving

The overall goal of our initiative is the prevention of the unacceptably high rates of motor vehicle crashes and fatalities in Nigeria. Our intervention plan was developed using a more holistic approach based on:

• Education/ Awareness

• Safety Enforcement

• Advocacy/ Legislation

• Safety Engineering and Road Improvement

This approach is aimed at addressing road safety from multiple angles and reaching all road users including pedestrians.

Our interventions piloted in Lagos state in 2006, with a view to replicating our achievements in other cities as Lagos houses 10% of the country’s population, 5% of roadways and 35% of the nation’s traffic with a resultant daily congestion and increased exposure to risks of road crashes within the environment.
However, our interventions have been expanded to other parts of the country namely Abuja, Yobe, Niger, Ondo, Delta, Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa states. More states would be impacted in the course of time.

Two schools are located around Anthony link road and five around Keffi. At peak periods, over 3000 school children cross the roads at the two locations and an average of 3 accidents a month and 3 a week involving the children, were recorded at Anthony and Keffi respectively.

Our recent study showed that AARSI’s intervention at the hot spots have had positive impact on the lives of people who live/work around the spots, as no crash has been recorded since the corrections.

Keffi: Before correction

after correction

School children using the zebra crossing

Anthony Link Road: Before correction

After Correction

Anthony Link Road before correction

AAfter correction

Osborne Bend: before correction

After Correction

DRIVING UNDER INFLUENCE (DUI)

AARSI procured and donated Breathalysers to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Abuja, Lagos and Niger states (the Safe Road Corridor project along Suleja-Mokwa-Bida-Lambata) for use in the implementation of DUI project. 48 officers of the FRSC and 9 of LASTMA were trained to use the equipment to check drunk drivers on the Nigerian roads.
This was with a view to creating the impression that drunk drivers could be apprehended on the Nigerian highways which would reduce the number of drunk drivers and ultimately reduce the number of drugs and alcohol related crashes on our roads.

TrainingFRSC officials on the use of Breath Alcohol Testers

Training FRSC officials on the use of Breath Alcohol Testers, along Suleja-Mokwa-Bida-Lambata

FRSC officer administering a sobriety check on a commercial driver and the results of the test

Sobriety Checks being administered to commercial bus drivers at the Ojota Garage Park

MOTORCYCLE SAFETY

In September 2006, AARSI successfully collaborated with government agencies and Parliament to draft and adopt new motorcycle safety regulations for motorcycle taxis. These new regulations limit motorcycle taxis to specific routes and operating hours, allow only one passenger per motorcycle, and mandate safety apparel for riders and passengers.

Between then and June, 2011, AARSI held several pre-sensitization workshops for motorcycle operators in Lagos, Abuja, Niger, Imo and Bayelsa states as well as procured and distributed over 20,000 tropicalised crash helmets across the country. This has served as a springboard for the safety riding training as well as the implementation of the crash helmet pilot scheme.

CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY

To confront the general lack of traffic knowledge and poor road user attitude through imbuing in the children, basic traffic knowledge and the right road user attitude and behaviour, AARSI, in partnership with FRSC, established Road Safety Clubs on 20 schools in Lagos. Here children receive lessons on general road safety, weekly.

With a view to extending the known road safety measures to children, AARSI joined FRSC, Safety Beyond Borders, TOCSS Foundation, Association for Better Environment and Life Savers Initiative, to launch a Child Passenger Safety Campaign. The campaign aims at improving the manner in which children are transported in the vehicles, highlighting the use of Seat Belts, Car Seats, Boaster Seat and Child Helmets.

In response to May 11, 2011 multiple crash along Lekki-Epe road in Lagos State, involving 7 vehicles and 19 persons, in which 4 School children in a school bus were killed, AARSI re-launched Child Passenger Safety campaign in Lagos and Abuja.
The report on the may 11crash and the Lagos launch of child safety
The Lagos launch has 3 elements:

Empowering schools with campaign materials to enable them take ownership of the campaign of their various domain

Road shows featuring distribution of fliers to Parents, Guardians, Drivers on school run.

Training School Bus Drivers on safe ways of transporting children to and fro schools.

Report on school bus drivers training

Sector Comdr FRSC, Mr. Jonas Agwu, Lecturing the School bus drivers

At the Abuja launch in November, 2011, AARSI established Road Safety Clubs in 12 schools where school children receive lessons on road safety, weekly.
Report on Abuja child safety launch

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
In March, 2012, AARSI conducted a school zone safety programme with the Lagos State Government where we gave lessons on how to cross minor and major roads, with emphasis on the Green Cross Code – use of zebra crossing. Pedestrian Crossing Signs were donated to Lagos schools.

School zone safety report

TRUCK SAFETY

In collaboration between AARSI and the Road Safety Coalition on one hand and between AARSI and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on the other, AARSI in its on-going National Truck Safety Campaign moved to reduce the menace of truck related accidents in the country.

With a view to making them visible at periods of poor visibility, AARSI partnered with the Road Safety Coalition to fix retro-reflective tapes on 11,500 trucks in 3 states – Lagos, Yobe and Abuja, sponsored by Chevron Nigeria Ltd.
In the same vein, AARSI partnered with the FRSC to fix tapes on 8,500 trucks in 5 states – Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo and Ondo states, sponsored by Agbami Partners.
With the tapes, whether stationary or in motion, the trucks are made visible and therefore on coming vehicles are prevented from running into the sides or rear, thereby reducing truck related fatalities on our roads.

Participants were given lectures on road safety with special emphasis on Truck Safety – including the dangers of non visibility of trucks, fatigue driving and phoning/texting while driving, which causes many deaths on Nigeria’s roadways each year. Also, a road safety device (wake-up) was donated and distributed to alert long distance drivers against falling asleep on the wheels.

All the reports on truck safety

Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State Flagging off the Truck safety Campaign

Fixing Retro Reflective tapes on Trucks in Apapa

Fixing Tapes in Imo State At Capitol Oil in Lagos

At NNPC Truck Park in Rivers State

DISTRACTED DRIVING

Distracted driving has been said to be the singular most important safety issue currently facing the globe. It was noted from our recent study in Lagos that mobile phone use is the single largest contributor to distracted driving in Nigeria as it was observed that 53% of Nigerians use mobile phones while driving and 47% of this group are young people of between 18 and 30 years.

AARSI is currently working with the Telecommunications Industry to reduce accidents caused by distracted driving through the use of Mobile Phones. We engaged a cross-sector partnership with the Telecoms industry to raise awareness on the dangers of phone use at the wheels, with the Support of the Industry regulator, The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
It was agreed at a stakeholder forum organized by Arrive Alive and the NCC that distracted driving is the singular most important safety issue in the telecoms industry.

(More) report on stake holders workshop

Mrs Mary Udoma, Director Consumer Affairs NCC Members of the high Table

Following from this, a strategic partnership has been formed across the telecommunications sector to address this important road safety issue.
Report on communique

Cross section of participants at the Stakeholders forum

In the months to come, series of programmes and interventions will emerge that would aim to raise awareness and reduce deaths and accidents caused in this way.